


Imaginary Friend (waiting to be real again)

by UnderlandsCreator



Category: James Bond (Craig movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous Relationships, Childhood Friends, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Imaginary Friends, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 03:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3963379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderlandsCreator/pseuds/UnderlandsCreator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James understood imaginary friends, and that meant that he also knew that that was one thing that Q definitely wasn't. </p><p>He may have been 11, but he was smart enough to realize that, while imaginary friends could only be seen and heard by the child thinking them up, they most definitely couldn't drink cups of tea, or read books. </p><p>James didn't know what Q was, and it didn't matter, because when everyone else left him, no matter what or where or when, Q was the only one who didn't.</p><p>Q was always there, a constant shadow, even on his darkest days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Imaginary Friend (waiting to be real again)

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own, nor do I claim ownership over any aspect of James Bond, or Skyfall.

James understood from the time that he was a young boy, newly orphaned in Skyfall manor, that the world could sometimes be a cruel and unfair place.

And he only says sometimes, because the world must have at least a few good points, otherwise he wouldn't have Q. Q, who to everyone else was just a figment of his imagination,  an imaginary friend thought up to deal with the loss of his parents.

But that wasn't the truth, because Q had been with James for as long as he could remember. Someone that he had always recognized as being other from his parents, but more loved for the fact that he never left James, even when his parents did to attend one event or another.

And even if no one else could see him, could hear him, James knew that Q was as real as he was. He was just a special type of person, one made just for James, so it made sense that as far as anyone else was concerned, Q existed only for him.

 _James? Is everything alright? You usually aren't this distracted when we're sitting together._ Q asked, breaking James out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine Q, just lost in thought, trying to wrap my head around everything that's happened." James said, turning his focus back to Q and the small lunch they were having together. Well, lunch for James, and tea for Q. James had found out through much trial and error, that the only things Q could eat and drink, were various sweets and desserts, and tea.

James picked up his sandwich from where it was resting on the plate in front of him, and took a second to take in Q from where he was seated across the small round table they were having lunch on, in the back gardens of Skyfall manor.

Q was cradling a cup of tea in his hands, and was leaned over the table slightly, looking at James, concern filling his eyes.

James noted that while Q was certainly bigger than him, at least for now, he actually wasn't very tall, being shorter than James' father had been. He was as pale as a ghost, a sharp contrast to James' own semi-permanent tan gained from all his time spent playing in the sun in Germany,  though, James thought looking up at the cloudy Scotland sky, clearly visible from where they were, seated in the garden, that was sure to change soon.

Q also had dark brown hair that reached his neck in big loose curls. Curls that James knew were as soft as they looked. But the nicest thing about Q, in James' opinion at least, were his  _eyes_ that shifted from blue to green randomly, and sometimes even appeared as a mix of the two colors. Q wore glasses, and James thought that that must be because whenever be saw Q, he always had a book in hand.

 _Hm,_  Q hummed, taking a sip of his tea,  _you have gone through a lot recently, especially with the move so soon after your parent’s death. Would you like to talk about it?_ Q continued once he was done drinking his tea.

"No," James said, shaking his head, “I really don't want to talk about that, about _them,_ at least not now."

Q stared at him, as if trying to determine the truth of his words, before he sighed, leaning back in his chair and picking up the book lying face down on the table.

He put the tea cup back into its saucer on the table, and cracked open the cover of the book, turning to the first page.

 _Then would you like for me to read to you?  I've found that the words of others are always a helpful distraction, especially when you find yourself unable to speak your own._ Q said, looking at James over the top of the book.

James thought about it for a moment, before nodding his head, and closing his eyes to the sound of Q's soft voice spinning the tale of _Peter Pan_ and his adventures in Neverland. A story of lost boys and finding a home where time stands still, and a place where wishes really do come true.

James closed his eyes and wished that the same could be true for him. That he could go back in time, and live forever in the moment before his parents left on their trip to the mountains, and took themselves away from him forever.

But this was the real world, and James knew better than to wish for things that could never happen. His parents were dead, that was a fact, and now he was miles away from the only home he had ever known in Germany, forced to live in the cold, dreary walls of Skyfall manor.

But at least he wasn't completely alone. He had Q, had had Q even before his parents accident, and James knew, like a truth imprinted on his heart, that Q would continue to be with him, would never leave him.

James knew this, just as he knew that Q was real, even if to everyone else, it looked like James was sitting out in the garden, having lunch by himself, and listening to a voice that wasn't there.

Q paused in the middle of a sentence, and James opened his eyes and looked over at him, curious as to why he had stopped, and found Q already looking back at him, amusement clear in his eyes.

“What?” James asked, “Why did you stop?”

 _I was just wondering if you asking me to have lunch with you, wasn’t just a clever ruse to get me to read to you._ Q said, and James flashed him a quick grin, before fixing his face into an innocent expression.

“Why Q, where ever did you get that idea? Can’t you see that I’m just sitting here, enjoying my sandwich, and that you were the one who offered to read to me in the first place?” James asked, looking at Q with wide eyes, and an earnest expression.

Q narrowed his eyes slightly, and cleared his face of the small smile that had been on it from the time that James had first started talking. He closed the book, marking the place with one of his fingers, and sighed.

 _Well if that’s how you feel, I suppose I should stop here, and leave you to your meal. I’ll be in the library if you need me._ Q said, moving to stand up, and James quickly shot out of his seat and moved to Q’s side of the table to stop him.

“No, no, no! You don’t have to do that, look, my plate is empty, and it would be simply criminal of you to stop the story, just when you were getting to a good part.” James told Q, pushing him back down into his seat, and taking the seat next to him.

 _If you’re sure?_ Q asked, settling back down into his seat, this time with James nestled in his side.

“I am.”

And with that, Q opened the book back up to the page he had marked with his finger, and continued from where he had left off.

James settled down against Q’s side, and even though Q didn’t give off any warmth, he still felt warmed by his presence. He closed his eyes, and started to nod off, the comfort of Q’s arm and his voice, lulling him to sleep.


End file.
